The Soul Exchange
by niconiconyx
Summary: Pluto has obtained the Gem of Souls and has now taken on a new disguise- Dynamis. Meanwhile, the real blader is trapped somewhere, lost, alone. Now the other Legendary bladers have found themselves in some trouble- their bodies are switched! They have to find the guardians and realize that "Dynamis" is not who he seems to be... before its too late.
1. Chapter 1: Unbound from darkness

**I know, I know, I'm said I was gonna post this after Drowning in Darkness was finished. But I couldn't help it. I got an even better plot idea! :D See? I used a smiley face! I am back to normal! Well, almost back to normal, still a bit sad, but still~ **

**Thanks Gocty for that review on Imperfections! It did cheer me up:) Piano... I quit piano last year and I am lazy to continue at Grade 7 level... :P Anyway I used to dance, swim, have art class, all that stuff. I quit all of them~ ESPECIALLY Tuition~ AND DID ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU SHOULD BECOME A FREAKING MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER?!**

**Dynamis: And here I thought that you was done with those stories about me...**

**Do you want to see Pluto get a happy ending?**

**Dynamis: *Gulps* I mean, I love this story.**

**Also I nearly had a mental breakdown today. WAIT! DON'T PANIC PEOPLE! I'm fine now, okay? And don't worry if you see weirdness like Guardians and Elements and stuff like that. Don't worry, Dynamis is still very much a part of it~ :D Anyway, please enjoy!**

* * *

Violet eyes flashed menacingly in the dim, wavering light. They slanted, filling with a certain emotion- anger. Why? Because while everyone else was living their lives normally, enjoying themselves, he was stuck here. In the darkness. Not that he minded the black- he was used to living with it- but he wanted freedom. Freedom and control. And he was going to get it back no matter what.

Somehow. He sighed. He wanted it now.

"The legend of the Heart Swapper must be true. It just has to." He muttered to himself, reciting the familiar prophecy. One that he had been taught several years ago. He remembered his mother chanting it to him softly, the ghostly tune of the song captured forever in his young mind.

"_A veil of water"_

"_A wall of ice"_

"_A shroud of darkness"_

"_And a fairy's light"_

"_A Dragon's guardian"_

"_A spectral ghost"_

"_Wings of the sky"_

"_And Lightning's host"_

"_A golden blaze"_

"_And magical vines"_

"_These are the elements"_

"_Of the soul in the shrine"_

"A voice of purity,"

"The power to swap hearts..." Pluto finished. Yes. There was no mistake. The guardian of the Gem of Purity was the same person as the Heart Swapper. He had to find her to get free, and at the same time, get revenge on the very bladers that destroyed him. But there were ten people who stood in his way.

The elements. The guardians of them. Well never mind. If he was fast enough, he could get to her before they noticed...

The clearer the image was in his mind, the more the darkness began to recede. He grinned. Yes! Freedom is coming closer! A blinding ray of light, to his disgust, seeped in. He never enjoyed the light, but eh, he could deal with it. Who cared about light now when he could be in utter control?

Finally, there was a fizz and the black space he was trapped in disappeared. He felt his body dissolving into dust-like particles. Colours swirled around him and suddenly, his body reformed. He found himself standing in a foreign place. There was grass all around, several towering trees, all humming with Purity magic. He cringed slightly. He didn't like this place. It felt like it was created solely to oppose him. Still, he moved forward.

There was a slight disturbance and Pluto smirked. No matter how well hidden it was, the shrine was always there. He placed a hand on an unseen wall, indigo shadows creeping in and causing the structure to appear. It was a small temple made out of cracked marble, with intricate designs of the Elements carved on the walls. He went in, seeing the guardian herself standing a few meters away from him. She had a serious expression on her face.

"Give me the crystal," He demanded. She shook her head.

"I know what you're up to, Pluto. The darkness in your heart has made it almost impossible to put you through the stage of Purification."

"Who cares about that?!" He raised his voice, stepping closer to her. "Where is the crystal?"

_"Hikari ga anata o umerumashou,-kō anata no sonzai o kiyome, jōka suru-" _

She quickly started the process of putting the Gem of Souls through purification, singing a string of Japanese words. Her voice was beautiful, chilling and haunting, and even Pluto found it hard to take another step forward. He felt strangely happy, like he was a child again and his mother was singing a song to him.

But he also felt trapped, and he didn't like being trapped. No, he had been trapped for too long. He swiftly reached forward and grabbed the white jewel that was around her forehead on a elaborate headpiece. As soon as his fingers brushed it, darkness spread deep into the core of the crystal, causing it to turn a murky black.

Thank god the purification process had just begun.

The girl fell to her knees, her power weakened now that one of the gems had been Turned. Her body seemed to grow translucent, the normally bright glow around her dimming. "You won't get away from this. The guardians will stop you," She said, glaring at the indigo-haired man.

"Oh, don't worry." Pluto replied with a smirk. "No one will even notice that it's me." He held up the gem which began to radiate with a purple light. Then, he disappeared and a new figure began to reform in its place. The guardian flinched and turned away at the blinding white light. She blinked in surprise at the new figure. Was that…

"Jupiter?" She asked in a tiny voice. _Isn't he gone?_

"Nope. Not Jupiter," The teen said in Pluto's voice. He had lavender hair and was dressed in a set of white robes. But the boy she remembered didn't have the evil smirk- but that was probably due to Pluto. He had achieved a successful Heart Swap.

"From now on, call me Dynamis."

_I… I just hope that the Guardians and Legendary Bladers are able to reach The Soul Exchange..._

* * *

**Yay! I am done with the first chapter! :D So... many... crystals... Also I'm probably going to leave this for a looooooooooooooooooong time. This is just a little sneak peak for ya. ^_^ Also I am almost back to my usual hyper self! Don't concern yourself with the near-breakdown.**

**Dynamis: If Pluto does anything with my body, he's dead.**

**Pluto: I love this! Now I get to cause some destruction!**

***Kicks him to the end of the universe* DIE! Basically, Dynamis is a guardian, and it's not one of the Elements. Also, we get to see something very sad happening next chapter.**

**Dynamis: NOOOOOO!**

**I am accepting OCs for this one. (Maximum 2 OCs per person, if anyone decides to submit at all) Here's the form!  
**

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Appearance: (Including height/weight/clothing)**

**Morality: (Good/Bad)**

**Physique:**

**Personality:**

**Bey: (Please elaborate and include special moves)**

**Aura:**

**Element: (The elements are in the poem, and the ones that are free right now are... wait, actually, just send in any. But the elements here are Water, Ice, Darkness, Fairy, Dragon, Ghost, Wind (Flying), Lightning, Fire and Grass.**

**Talents:**

**Weaknesses:**

**Friends/Enemies:**

**Background:**

**Trivia:**

**Now, critiques welcome and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Trusting you

**OH MY GOSH NINE FREAKING REVIEWS I LOVE YOU ALL THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THEM-**

**I know I said I wasn't going to update it until I finished Drowning in Darkness, but I couldn't help it! Besides, I feel FABULOUS!**

**Dynamis: Wrong story -_-**

**Whatever! That was from my insanity fic Le Feels Fabulous, but isn't it good to always feel fabulous? **

**Kenta: Whatever... :(**

**Hey, I thought you were on my side!**

**Kenta: Now I'm not:(**

**I don't care, now onwards with ze chapter~**

* * *

"So how do you feel about a bey battle, Kenta?" Gingka had a broad smile on his face, forever the happy, optimistic person. He pulled out his newly repaired Cosmic Pegasus. Madoka had just finished fixing it for the... well, anyway, he was pretty sure it was more than hundredth. Madoka just huffed and glared at him angrily, smacking him hard.

"Nope, you're not battling just yet. I am sick of repairing Pegasus every five minutes!" She yelled at him. The redhead simply laughed nervously and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "O-Oh... it was every five minutes? But still..."

The shorter green-haired boy, Kenta smirked at the two of them starting to argue. "Oh my, are you two crushing on each other?" He asked coyly. That was enough to distract them from their argument. Both of them blushed and looked away from each other. "N-no!" Kenta simply raised a questioning eyebrow. Uh huh. That was _so _convincing. _Totally _not crushing on each other. Gingka just groaned. "Cut me some slack, Kenta!"

"Whatever you say, Gingka," Kenta retorted playfully. "But seriously though, who do you think I could battle against?' This caused the redhead to start thinking.

Finally, it hit him. "Oh yeah! Dynamis is visiting town today, isn't he?!" Everyone perked up at that. The Guardian of the Mist Mountain temple and the Solar System Legendary Blader of Jupiter had decided to take some time off to relax with his friends. Not only that, he was bringing Tithi with him too. Kenta and Yu had maken close friends with the energetic younger boy in the time they had been together, trying to save the world from Nemesis's wrath.

"What time is he coming?" Kenta asked eagerly. Madoka shrugged.

"Around two or three, maybe?" She replied.

"Yup! And I think the other Legendary bladers are coming as well, so that means everyone will get a chance to battle each other!"

"Awesome!"

* * *

The teenaged boy looked down at himself in utter horror. This wasn't him, not at all. His spiky lavender hair was now indigo and fell down to his shoulders, and his sapphire eyes were now onyx coloured. He wore a tight white dress suit, white pants, a red tie that was itchy and uncomfortable, and a long, worn brown robe that concealed most of his outfits. He was so shocked, he couldn't even begin to speak. Why?

He realised who he was, well, at least who he looked like.

_Pluto._

"What is the mean-" Dynamis started as a boy skipped into the room happily.

"Hey, Dynamis, are you-" The boy stopped cold in his tracks as he saw the person in the room. His grey-blue eyes widened and darted around before taking a step back, attempting to run out of the room. The Jupiter blader quickly tried to explain things.

"Tithi, wait, I can explain this, it's me, Dynamis-" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted it. Tithi's reaction was completely understandable. And what he was saying seemed incredulous. Impossible to believe. But he just wanted his friend to know that it was him. That seemed impossible now. _And _he was still confused about this whole thing.

Tithi shook his head and cowered behind Dynamis's stone chair. "N-no!" he whimpered. "Go away, you meanie! And what did you do with Dynamis?!" Those words caused Dynamis to wince, as if a dagger was twisting inside his heart.

"Please, Tithi, you have to understand me! I don't know what happened, but the stars-" As soon as the word "stars" had been said, Tithi's attitude changed. He seemed to be considering that fact. After a few moments, he finally turned around to face him, his childlike blue eyes clashing defiantly with his own now onyx orbs. 'Fine." Tithi said after a while. "Then let me ask you. What was it like when you were put under Hades Curse?" The boy had heard all about it from Dynamis and was sure that the question would help him understand.

Dynamis took a deep breath. He knew what Tithi was doing. That smart kid. "It was horrible. There was darkness all around me and a dark version of me kept taunting me and it hurt so much. I almost gave up on my friends and succumbed to it, but my friends' faith in me kept me going. I will never be able to forget that experience," He stated calmly, his voice fading to a whisper at the last few words. It was clear he was still pretty traumatized from the whole event.

Tithi hesitated for a moment before flinging his arms around him. "It is you!" He cried happily, still feeling a little strange hugging what appeared to be one of his worst enemies. But he was a hundred percent sure it was his best friend. No one else could ever come close to describing the emotion and details in that experience.

"But..." Tithi broke away from the hug. "Why...are you like... um, this?" He asked. This wasn't a natural phenomenon. Dynamis shrugged. He, too, was confused. "I do not know, nor have I experienced anything as strange as this," He told the young boy. "I will have to consult the Will of the Heavens." He gazed up at the beautiful galaxy of stars above his temple, and his trained eye singled out certain stars that held certain meaning.

Soon, he gasped, his eyes widening in surprise. Tithi shook his arm. "What does it mean?" Dynamis turned to him grimly, his appearance making him look even more fearful.

"The stars have spoken, and I will need to go and consult a friend of my ancestor."

Tithi nodded. Whatever Dynamis was talking about, it was serious. "Then I'll go and inform Gingka and the others."

* * *

"Dynamis" walked down the pathway to Metal Bey City, noticing several people crowded around the bey stadium. He smirked to himself when he saw his enemies blading enthusiastically while dozens of people cheered them on. He pulled out a certain black jewel.

Time for some revenge. And it was only just beginning.

Gingka looked up from his battle with Kenta, noticing the blader idly strolling towards them, glancing around at his surroundings. His face lit up. "Dynamis! You made it!" Being the hotheaded, easily distracted, ditzy blader that he was, Gingka immediately abandoned his battle and rushed up to the teen. Pluto offered a weak smile, his insides curdling. It pained him to flash a smile at someone like _him. _In fact, did he ever smile now?

"Awesome! We were just in the middle of battling! Who do you wanna battle?" He asked, jittering from excitement. Pluto scoffed slightly. Already so old and yet still acting like a three-year old kid hyped up on sugar. Such a fool would be educated soon.

He thought up an excuse in a split second. _What would the Jupiter blader say? _"I... I honestly just got here. Maybe I could just watch your battle first? And besides, I wanted to show you," Pluto uncurled his fingers, revealing the precious gem in his hand. "This. Isn't in pretty?" Well, it was kind of attractive. It was extremely smooth and shaped exquisitely in two hearts intertwined. The black, while being an unusual colour, was deep and rich, coating the crystal completely. It shone gently in the sunshine.

Gingka grinned. "Sure is. Mind if I take a-" He was interrupted by a pink and brown blur cannonballing into him, knocking him over.

Gingka rubbed his head, wincing slightly. He sat up, noticing the small child looking at him with a panicked expression on his face. "Tithi?" The child nodded before pinning him to the ground. He had a bad feeling about the shiny black object in Dyna- Pluto's hand. "Did. You. Touch. The. Crystal?!" He asked, his words coming in short, sharp breaths. Slowly, Gingka shook his head, making Tithi heave a sigh of relief.

"Good," He said. "Because he's an imposter!" Tithi yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the lavender haired teen. Pluto gasped. _How did he manage to find out? _Everyone turned to Pluto, who quickly feigned shock and hurt.

"Why, Tithi, what would make you say that?" Madoka spoke up first. "He clearly is Dynamis."

"No, he isn't!" Tithi snapped, uncharacteristically angry and frustrated. He understood why they didn't believe him, but at the same time, couldn't they at least be more skeptical? "I don't know what's going on, but the _real _Dynamis is trapped inside Pluto's body and he's gone somewhere to look for someone!"_  
_

"Hmph," Kyoya, or Yo-yo as he liked to call him, was the next. His voice was cold. "And how would you know that's the real Dynamis, hmm?" He asked a slow, tired voice, the type of tone they use with little kids. Tithi growled, surprising everyone. Why wasn't anyone with him on this?

Tithi glared at everyone. "Well, I asked him about Hades Curse."

There was a long silence after this and several murmurs of agreement. Only Dynamis would know what it had been like. But after a while, the boy he had expected to stick with him through everything, the one that surprised him the most, had turned against him. "I don't know, Tithi..." Yu's voice was uncertain. "I mean, Pluto was the one putting Dynamis under Hades Curse. Wouldn't he know as well?"

This changed everyone's views. In less than a minute, Tithi's hopes were crushed instantly. Pluto looked at him with a hurt expression. "I thought I was your friend, Tithi. How could you do this to me?" He asked. That just angered the Venus blader further.

"Oh, COME ON!" Tithi screamed at everyone, finally losing it and running off, tears threatening to fall. He was going to find Dynamis. At least it would be okay with him. Dynamis would take care of him. Why couldn't they tell? Were they even being friends like this?

Gingka's POV:

"Wow... that escalated quickly..." I said. "Maybe I'll give Tithi some time to calm down. Anyway, Dynamis..." I took the crystal from my friend's hand, immediately feeling dizzy as colours swirled before me. What on earth was happening? I couldn't see nor think straight. Is it the crystal? There were several muffled murmurs of concern as my friends crowded around me to see if I was okay.

And then everything turned white.

Just as quickly as I had been nearly blinded by that light, I regained my vision. Was it me, or did Kyoya seem... _shorter _now? And why do I feel this strange weight pulling me down? I unconsciously tugged at a strand of my long hair. Wait, _what?! _I looked down...

"OK, this is seriously weird," I said. "I'm now _Tsubasa?"_

Everyone nodded. Sighing, Yu spoke up, only it was in Kyoya's rough, deep voice. "Why the hell am I the little kid?" He asked, exasperated. Next to him, the green-haired teenager groaned. "I don't know. And seriously, why am I Mr. Grumpypants Yo-yo?!"

Everyone was starting to panic except for Dynamis who just watched us with a perplexed expression. It looked like he was the only normal one. Well, I had to get this under control fast. Waving my arms in the air, I tried to calm everyone down. "OK, everyone, settle down! Let me try to find out who's who first before deciding what happens next!"

-twenty minutes later-

"ARGH! This isn't going to work! I suck at organising!" I sighed in defeat.

Who I roughly assumed was Chris spoke. "Your voice sounds pretty annoyinh in Tsubasa's body."

"OH SHUT UP!"

* * *

3rd Person POV:

Tithi's lungs were burning as he ran and ran in what he hoped was the correct direction. It was a meadow. He couldn't see his friend anywhere, though. He started to panic when he ran straight into something that he thought seemed semi-solid. Was it where Dynamis was? He took a deep breath and knocked, feeling a little silly knocking on what seemed like thin air.

"Dynamis?!" He yelled, banging repeatedly. "This is never gonna wor- AHHHHHH!" A structure suddenly formed and he toppled in, down a flight of stairs, and right onto Dynamis. The teen winced in pain. "Tithi? What are you doing here, and would you kindly get off me?"

The boy sheepishly clambered off Dynamis. He glanced up at what seemed to be a young teenage girl with long pale hair that was tied in a ponytail. She had a pretty headpiece around her forehead, but there was an empty spot. Also, her form seemed to be... flickering? Was she a ghost? Dynamis could communicate with dead people?

"I am not dead," The girl sighed. "I am the guardian of Purity. I assume you've heard that legend from the blader of Jupiter." Tithi nodded, recalling hearing something like that before. Something about crystals and magic. She continued. "Well, my job is to guard the twelve gems of Balance. There are ten elements that guard the the gem of Purity. But...

"She fingered the empty spot on her headpiece regretfully. "The descendant of King Hades has taken the gem of Souls. With it, he will be able to achieve Heart Swaps."

"You mean like what he did with Dynamis?" Tithi asked. The girl nodded before continuing. "However, there is a way to stop him. Gather the ten elements of Nature to unlock the true power of Purity. There are ten peop-" She was cut off as Pluto suddenly appeared in front of them.

He had a sadistic grin on his face. "Had a nice chat? The kid wasn't part of the plan, but it seems that Venus has found out a bit too much for his own good."

And then the whole structure started to shake as a ring of black flames surrounded the two bladers, and they sunk into the ground, swallowed by darkness.

* * *

**Dun dun dun! Epic cliffhanger for ya! But this sucks so much I can't even pull one off! Anyway, here are the OCs that are accepted:**

**Blossom by ****goctyudicbdkvhb175749674**

**Rosalina Tendo by AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust **

**Titania Triton by AlchemistWarriorDiamondDust**

**Rin Omyia by TheMidnightSniper**

**Ventus by gamergirl101**

**Sora by lunacrest**

**Yup that's it! Sorry for anyone who's OC didn't get chosen, it means I already accepted the OCs before you submitted ^.^**

**Anyway, the slots for Water, Grass, Ice, Fire, Wind, Lightning (Other's OCs) and Fairy, Ghost and Dragon are done! :) Only Darkness is left and you can submit an OC for that if you want! (Yes, Warrior, even you) Luna told me she would submit one though so if she does... too bad :P I've been waiting for quite long though.**

**Special annoucement: I am drawing all the submitted OCs ponyfied for ya! A little present for all of you who took the time :) I'll post it on either Instagram or Deviantart, and PM you when I'm done.**

**Here are the swapped bodies if you wanna know.**

**Dynamis= Pluto**

**Pluto= Dynamis**

**Gingka = Tsubasa**

**Tsubasa = Gingka**

**Kyoya= Yu**

**Yu= Kyoya**

**Chris= Bao**

**Bao= Chris**

**King= Toby**

**Toby= King**

**Yuki= Zeo**

**Zeo= Yuki**

**Aguma= Benkei**

**Benkei= Aguma**

**Kenta= Masamune**

**Masamune= Kenta**

**Tell me if I left anyone out! BAI! Critiwues welcome and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: New Beginnings

**I'm finally updating this story! ^_^' This is sort of a birthday present to Gocty. Happy birthday senpai! You're older than me now -_- So *smirks* I can still call you senpai. Kohai looks up to you! :) (Ps: I have more than one senpai, ok? I look up to a lot of people XD)**

**Dynamis: NOOOOO! WHY DID YOU UPDATE?!**

**I felt like writing stuff and I didn't feel like writing Drowning in Darkness :/ **

**Pluto: I like where this is g-**

***Kills him with my fabulous powers and smiles innocently* Now, where was I?**

**Dynamis: Err... the part where you were going to delete this story?**

**That doesn't sound right. Anyway, enjoy! I don't own MFB! :D**

* * *

_Where… where are we?_ Dynamis thought to himself. All he could see around him was pitch black, and the only sound he could hear was Tithi's bated breath. The little boy's hand was clutching his tightly, and it was almost _painful_. Not that he could blame the Venus blader. He was pretty terrified himself.

"Dynamis?" Tithi spoke up, his voice trembling in fear. "W-what happened? I'm scared…" He whimpered softly. Dynamis sighed. He reached out and stroked what felt like Tithi's hair.

"Fine… it's going to be just fine…" The Jupiter blader murmured soothingly as he felt Tithi snuggle into him and nod slightly before falling asleep. Dynamis looked around as he hugged the boy. It was still dark. A single tear fell down his eye. For once, he was grateful for the darkness. At least no one could see him so weak and pathetic.

_"You're scared already?"_ A voice boomed, echoing through the darkness. Purple flames flickered in the darkess, causing the room to light up dimly. Dynamis noticed stone walls all around them, with iron bars replacing one of the walls. He glared at the source of the voice before checking on Tithi. Thankfully, he was still asleep, his light breathing calming Dynamis slightly.

The voice- the dreaded Pluto- spoke up again, this time sending shivers down his spine as he talked. _"You should be. After all, this is the secret lair of Hades… where all the worst criminals were banished to for eternal punishment, never to be seen again by others."_ An illusion of his- or Dynamis's face- appeared on one of the walls, and he cackled evilly.

Dynamis bit his lip. Hades had a secret lair? And no one had managed to escape before? This was bad. Very, very bad. But he managed to speak. "My friends will find out who you are," He whispered, but Pluto just smirked.

_"How funny. Your friends? Well, sorry to tell you, but I have already fooled them." _Pluto snarled back, a dark aura surrounding him. For a split second, Dynamis saw a distant flashback play in front of him- one where he was helpless against the growing darkness, as the dark side of him smiled maniacally, shadowy tendrils nearing him…

His eyes widened as he slowly shifted backwards, even more scared than before. Pluto laughed, reveling in the sight of the Jupiter blader cowering before him. _"Well, I must be going now, but first, I need to take some precautions." _A bolt of dark lightning suddenly shot out from his fingertips and crashed into Dynamis. The last thing he felt was a numbing sensation wash over his hands before his world spiralled into darkness.

* * *

The Gem of Courage, the pale purple and blue gem on her headband waned slightly, its beautiful light faltering for a split second. She brushed her long, pale yellowish white hair aside and inspecting the jewel. She frowned slightly. "The Gem of Courage's guardian has weakened. I must help at once… at least, that was a promise I made…"

She closed her eyes, becoming enclosed in a white capsule of bright white light before her figure started to fade. _I, Lyra Shizuki made a promise. I promised that I would protect the guardian no matter what, and I will fulfill that…_

Then, her figure disappeared and she felt her body melt into nothingness.

_I am coming._

* * *

"So what are we going to do about this?" Gingka asked in frustration for what seemed like the millionth time. He was pretty annoyed about being stuck in Tsubasa's body. In fact, "pretty" was an understatement. They had managed to figure out who was who, at least, but the problem was, _what was happening?!_

Kenta- who was now Masamune of all bladers- raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea at all, Gingka. I mean, people are definitely going to sense that something is up. We won't be able to control each other's beys and- Argh! This is so confusing! If I find the person who did this to us, he's as good as dead!"

Next to them, Pluto gulped slightly, though it was barely audible. He looked down at the bey in his hand- Jade Jupiter. It seemed to glare at him with unseen eyes, growing searing hot in his grasp, as if accusing him of being separated from its master. He abruptly stuffed it into his belt. Anything to get rid of that condescending, unforgiving gaze of that bey.

_Forgive me for this sudden entrance, but… Are you all panicking about what to do next? _A voice giggled sweetly in their minds. They looked around before finding the owner of that voice- a small girl that looked like she was around 11, with long, icy blue hair. Her dark blue eyes was innocent, but it looked like there were years of wisdom behind them. Her white dress fluttered around her as she smiled at each and evey one of them.

"What do you think, smartass?" Kyoya grumbled sarcastically from the other end of the table. He wasn't very happy being in another body- especially not Yu's. The girl glared at him for a moment before her gaze slid over Pluto's, and he got the message. _I would reveal who you are now, but unfortunately I'm not permitted to do that just yet._

_Tsk. Don't talk back to me, especially when I have the solution, _the girl taunted in a sing-song voice. Kyoya's gaze darkened considerably, but shut up anyway. Smirking at her trivial victory, she continued. _I'm pretty sure you haven't heard of the legend of the Guardians of the Elements._

Gingka spoke up. "Is it similar to the Legendary Bladers? Because it sounds similar." The girl looked like she was thinking for a while, but then she shook her head in reply.

_No. The Legendary Bladers are the ones who saved the world from Nemesis. But the Guardians- they're different. It's kinda like… _she searched for a term to describe it. _Like they're the Earth itself. The elements, I mean._

_Well, there are ten Guardians, each guardian protecting one element. Without them, the world will be thrown into turmoil. _

"I don't get it," Yu stated, sulking. "I mean, the elements are those nature things, right? What does our bodies being swapped have to do with this?" Everyone nodded in agreement. The girl mentally face-palmed before continuing with her speech.

_Erm… You see, the elements are contained inside gems. Those gems are hidden within the guardians themselves, but there are more important gems that is protected by the Guardian of Purity. Among those include the Gem of Souls, which is what one uses to achieve a body swap, _the young girl informed. Everyone turned to Pluto suspiciously, remembering the gem he had shown them.

He closed his eyes and felt his hands flare up in dark energy. When he opened them again, he felt slightly dizzy- but the spell worked. Everyone wasn't looking at him anymore- looked like they didn't remember. He smirked slightly. _Memory Altering. My old skills are coming back already._

"So let me get this straight. We're supposed to find more bladers. Joy," Kyoya grumbled, glaring at the little girl who returned the look. "If you're so knowledgable about everything, why don't you tell us who they are? Huh?" He snapped.

_Oh, that is __**it! **_She yelled, her voice gaining a rumbling edge as her eyes glowed a bright white. Kyoya was seriously annoyed now, and punched her in the face. To everyone's shock, his arm passed right through her body, and the girl was reduced to shreds in front of them.

The Leone blader cautiously withdrew his arm. "What in the name of-"

Standing in the girl's place was now a icy blue dragon with outstretched wings, baring her teeth and snarling at them, causing everyone to back away slowly. She flapped her mighty wings once, several hard feathers raining down as a spiral of gold light surrounded her.

_I'm not human, fools. I am Doragon Zenchi, the messenger of the Guardian of Purity! Heaven has it's rules; that's why you have to find the bladers on your own. All I can tell you is the ten elements: Water, ice, darkness, fairy, dragon, ghost, wind, lightning, fire and grass- _

That was all she said before she exited through the window, letting out a ferocious, ear-piercing cry as she shot into the sky.

* * *

"Come now, I do not have time to waste," The tall man snapped as the young girl shrunk away from his grasp. Her dark green eyes glistened with tears as she tried to dodge him again.

She finally glanced up at him. "No! I thought you were _dead_, Doji. And you can't govern me anymore!" Doji sighed and shook his head at her defiance before pulling out a bey. Her eyes widened in terror as she tried to run, but her feet felt like they were frozen in place.

"Doji, please! Don-" She was silenced as he launched his bey, calling out his _new _special move.

"Ripping Assault!" He yelled as a blast of dark energy tore straight into the girl. She screamed in pain and was blasted into a nearby wall before collapsing on the ground. Her lips moved slightly as she got out a sentence. "I-I'm sorry…"

Blood trickled down her face and formed a small pool on the ground, the dark red metallic liquid glistening in the moonlight. But that didn't matter. When morning came, she would be gone. She would be in the Dark Nebula.

* * *

**Phew... that was a lot of action to write... and yes. Doji is back. You can all hate on him now. Who wants to join the Kill Doji and Pluto Club? *Raises hand* Hope you liked your present, Gocty! ^~^ Now, I have to run off to persuade my friend to watch MFB. She has the Beyblades but hasn't watched the anime yet. YAS! TIME TO INTRODUCE HER TO THE AWESOMENESS OF DYNAMIS!**

**Also, umm... be honest. Does my writing suck? We're currently doing writing in school and we were supposed to write introductions and stuff. I think my evil English teacher (She hates my guts) made it clear that she pretty much despises my writing. So please? Critiques?**

**Also, Luna (Follow her. I will win ze shoutout war!), your OC has been accepted. Yay:) And, if you want to know, the girl Doji attacked is one of my absolute favourite characters in the story. Feel free to kill him more ^.^**

**Anywayyyyy, critiques are EXTREMELY welcome and please review! *Salutes* Nyx out!**


	4. Chapter 4: Illusion of Strength

Lyra's POV:

"Who hired you as the strategizer?" Kyoya grumbled, still pissed at being stuck in Yu's body. Gingka's eye twitched slightly as he stared blankly at the pieces of paper scattered out in front of him, trying to hold in the pent-up frustration building up inside him.

Finally, he gave up. "I hired myself! And please! I've saved the world before! Like three times!" He groaned, collapsing back in his chair. Everyone rolled their eyes at his weak argument.

"Not true. You forgot about us," Chris muttered in his usual snarky tone, not too happy about being stuck in Bao's body. He didn't even know the Hades Crown blader, for goodness sake. Everyone nodded in agreement, glaring at Gingka who grinned nervously and backed away.

Madoka slammed her hand down on the table firmly, fed up with this whole tiring ordeal. "That is it. I hereby select _Dynamis _to be strategizer!"

I gasped at the vision. No… but why him of all people? Couldn't those humans tell that he wasn't the true Jupiter blader? She had an idea of what he was about to do- and it wasn't a good one. I would interfere- but the Gem of Souls was an important part of my life source- and I was too weak to visit the human world. Sure, I had my shrine, but it was still partially in the realm of magic…

But all that could wait. For now, I had to find a certain blader in this impossibly never-ending maze of tunnels and gates…

Tithi's POV:

I finally woke up, and found a sleeping Dynamis next to me. Was he sleeping or unconscious? I didn't have the medical knowledge to tell… All I knew that there was something different about him…

I carefully touched his wrist, where the dark aura was emanating from, and gritted my teeth when I felt a faint jolt of electricity run up my body. I shuddered slightly and carefully leapt back, and saw a ring of black electricity surround his hand. _What is that?_

"That's the work of Pluto's dark magic."

The melodic voice from behind startled me, and I yelped and quickly turned around, but relaxed when I recognised the girl- it was the Guardian of Purity. Her long hair swirled around her as she stood inside the dungeon. Glad to finally see someone else again, I didn't think before hugging her. However, my arms went straight through her and I fell to the ground.

She sighed. "I'm not actually here. This is just my spirit appearing to you in this form. And that electricity…" A sad, regretful frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. "It binds the user to the dungeon of Hades for eternity. That means, even if the Gem of Souls can be restored, he can't escape…"

_"__What?!"_ Tithi shrieked, causing Dynamis to stir slightly. The guardian nodded. "Yes. I'm here to deliver the message- Pluto will try to guide your friends wrongly to find the legend of the Elements- Dynamis can tell you about that."

The young blader's eyes softened. He fingered Quetzalcoatl in his hand, a habit he had developed when he was frightened or nervous. He was _scared- _but who wouldn't be, when you were locked up in a dungeon with no where to go, and your best friend and big brother could be trapped here forever?

Everyone felt fear- and that fear would be shown at some point in life, no matter how strong you try to be, no matter how hard you try to mask it. Because in the end, the strong façade is just a mask. Masking the fear.

No one is truly strong- it's just a game to see how well you can hide.

Even though he couldn't really hug the guardian of Purity, he just wanted a shoulder to cry on. He just wanted someone to reassure him that everything was going to be fine, even though it wasn't…

The teenage girl handed him a globe. "Use this to have some semblance of connection in the outside world. It will only work occasionally, though… And if you excuse me, I have to go now. I cannot stay here for too long." Her body started to glow and disappear- but not before Tithi asked a question.

"Why are you helping us?"

Her voice faded away into the pitch darkness as she disappeared completely. "Because I have a promise to keep, and I don't break promises…"

3rd Person POV:

Pluto tried to make up a plan. The bladers were relying on him to help them find the elements now- and that was perfect. With some skills and background knowledge- they'd never know. They would be falling right into his trap.

The problem was that he didn't know who the elements were.

But he could sense their presence, and that helped. He just had to direct them _away _from them, and everything would be fine. Just fine. It was as easy as it sounded, after all… probably…

Suddenly, Kyoya's head snapped up and he blinked for a while before turning to the group, his grouchy expression back. "We have to go to this certain event held in the spiritual dimension called the Soul Exchange."

Gingka narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "And how do you know that?"

He sighed in response. "A certain extremely annoying dragon decided to tell me in my head. Why me, I have no idea. I don't know if she's even telling the truth." The voice spoke up in his head again.

_I heard that._

"Oh, shut up," He growled, and Zenchi fell silent. Kyoya felt the dragon drifting away from his mind, the temporary connection between them breaking. At that moment, Pluto held out his plan.

"We'll go to France first, followed by the other countries. Like what you did with the Legendary bladers, I think we should enter in tournaments- though maybe we could go to more nature related places for them." Everyone nodded in agreement and Pluto felt as if a weight had been lifted off his back- but then Yu spoke up.

He drummed his fingers on the table- and it looked pretty funny for the Legendary blader of Spring to both wear that ridiculous expression and do something so childish. "Well, I think I'll stay back in Japan. Wasn't there quite a few Legendary bladers there too?"

Madoka nodded. "You're right. I guess you can stay behind. Any other objections?"

No one spoke.

"OK," Gingka said. "I think it would be better if the rest of us goes to France together. This way we'll be safe against any possible danger."

Pluto groaned inwardly as he felt his perfectly pieced together plan start to slip through his fingers.


	5. Chapter 5: First Hope

**Yes, readers. You are not hallucinating.**

**Nyx has finally gotten back here to . **

**JRWEJHIQWUEHF WHO AM I KIDDING?! I MISS YOU FANFICTION! I have been ready getting my entries for the Pokemon Watty Awards (it's a huge Wattpad competition where all those crazily talented authors participate in), but who cares? I NEED A BREAK FROM POKEMON. X_X**

**Anywayyy~yyy~ An OC is debuting this chapter! Warrior Of The Diamond Dust, sorry if I changed Rosalina's history and anything. ^^ I based it on TSAT's history of her. Anyway, I don't own MFB, but I own the plot and my **very new and shiny** laptop! :)**

* * *

3rd Person POV:

"Lead the way, Dynamis!" Madoka grinned. Of course she was acting normal. It wasn't like _she _was the one who was stuck in someone else's body… Not that he minded- the bladers seemed trusting enough- but it was a bit inconvenient to act as the Jupiter blader…

He nodded. It had been a few days since they decided to go to France, and the WBBA was taking care of the travel expenses. They were currently in the airport, ready to leave to their respective destinations. With every step that he took, Jade Jupiter hummed with warmth on his belt.

_You don't belong here. You're not my blader, and there is evil in your heart. _Pluto swore he could hear the bey's voice ringing inside his head.

_Shut up, _he snapped back, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling. If this was what he had to live with for a lifetime of infinite freedom and power, fine. This was a speck of dust compared to the abyss of nightmares those _monsters _of Legendary Bladers had trapped him in. They would _pay. _That thought caused a smirk to tug at the corners of his mouth, though he forced it back before anyone else could see.

He boarded the plane first, looking confused at the maze of sleek technology- thank the heavens Dynamis was as clueless as him when it came to modern day things- and taking a seat at the corner. The rest of the gang came striding in, sitting with either a friend or in groups.

He bit back a frown. _What did I do to deserve this? I'm alone… My only friend before this was Rago, if I could even call him a 'friend'. But I was selfish. I left him behind for my own decisions… _A wave of fresh guilt hit him, an emotion foreign to the being who didn't care who he hurt to get what he wanted. He closed his eyes in shame, the black reminding him of his friend, still trapped down there…

_Slow down. The spell could only save one person, and you were the only one who knew how to work it, _the rational part of his head spoke up sharply. The guilt subsided- but he knew that guilt couldn't go away completely.

It would never go away. It would _always _be a fresh scar to his heart.

* * *

-Time skip, 7 hours later-

Pluto's POV:

"Hey, Dynamis, wake up! We're here!" A harsh female voice sounded in my ears, and it took me quite a few moments to realise that she was actually talking to me and not my arch-nemesis. I guess I would never get used to that name… I opened my eyes to see Madoka waiting for me impatiently at the front of the plane.

"Coming," I called, trying to keep my annoyance minimal, and followed her out. The dark evening sky greeted me- it was familiar, almost comforting. Not only because I had spent two years in darkness, but also because it told me that I had successfully spent yet another day in the outside world.

I increased my pace slightly to catch up with the group, before giving them the instructions, which I had memorised beforehand. "We'll be heading to the nearby Beystadium first to sign up for the upcoming tournament, which is in about a week's time. Then, we'll head to a hotel for dinner and spend the night there. Everyone clear?" The bladers nodded mutely.

After a short taxi ride, which I had some difficulty with, since I couldn't understand French, we arrived at the Beystadium- a huge, lit-up building that was so bright my eyes burned. Several stadiums were scattered around the structure, and bladers were everywhere.

_Is this how Beyblade has become now? _I asked myself quietly. I had to say… I was impressed. It had come a long way since the older times.

I headed straight for the counter, where a long snake of people queued to either book a stadium or register for the tournament. Amongst them was a teenage girl in front of me with long red hair that was tied into a meticulous French braid and swept to the left side. She wore a red dress, shimmering silver robes, red tights and silver heels. A distant memory stirred in my head, though it disappeared quickly- was it some mental connection when we switched bodies? Did Dynamis know this girl?

She strode up to the counter and scribbled down her name in an offhand manner, before smiling at the woman behind the counter and nodding her head in thanks before turning to walk off. I, being next, took a glance at her name, written in meticulous cursive.

_Rosalina Tendo._

I blinked. Who the hell was she? I offered the lady a forced smile before picking up the pen and lightly pressing it to the tip of the paper. My ancestor always said that writing wasn't just an action, it was an art in itself, that the pressure applied had to be just right; that each stroke had to be absolutely perfect.

My hand was about to trace out the familiar "P", but I stopped, checking myself in time and instead wrote "Dynamis" on the paper. I stared at that one word for a while, foreign in my own handwriting, before walking away quickly. However, a hand on my shoulder stopped me and I saw the girl- Rosalina- staring at me, her pale blue eyes wide with shock.

"Dynamis?" She murmured, almost to herself. There was a pause before I hesitantly nodded, and she wrapped her arms around me, smiling. I flinched and blushed a little at the physical contact. "It's so good to see you again," she told me.

I bit my lip. _Wha-what am I supposed to say? I don't even know who she is! _I took a deep breath. "Er… yeah! It's good to see you too… R-rosalina." For a moment, I panicked internally as she narrowed her eyes at me, suspicion lacing through those sky blue orbs. But those emotions settled into happiness.

"Never mind… maybe you didn't remember me at first. After all, it _has _been so many years! You're entering the competition? Well, I guess I'll see you there." Her eyes took on a determined expression before her lips curved into a smirk, and with that, she was gone.

I waited quietly for the others, but gasped when suddenly, the colours darkened as swirled around me, fading into the familiar black abyss, lighted up by only a bright, brilliant red light the colour of rubies.

I smirked grimly to myself. _Rosalina Tendo… the first Element._

* * *

**Yayyyy! The first element has been found! :D:D Anyway, sorry for the slow updates, don't kill m- *gets run over* Never mind. (-.\\) I'm so close to finishing one of my entries for the Awards~ Five chapters left~ so I can start working on my stories here! ^_^**

**Anyway, maybeeeee I should start a small one-way side ship between Pluto and Rosalina? Maybe DeceivingShipping? *Burns idea* LIKE HELL THAT WOULD HAPPEN. _ I would rather put my OC Astri in here than have that ship...**

**I'm going to try creating a forum for all my fellow Kill Doji &amp; Pluto Club members, so look out for that. With that, critiques welcome and please review! *Salutes* Nyx out!**

**Oh yeah and I also barely passed my English exposition (5/8) But that doesn't really matter TToTT**


	6. Chapter 6: You're not my master

**Stupid Mac deleted my AN but hey. Meh, I updated, now bye. Enjoy~ I don't own MFB and all~**

The dark black I was standing in melted away into my familiar surroundings. I sighed in relief, finally free of that trapping prison again. I lifted my gaze to stare at Gingka, who was now in… I tried to recall the name of that blader. Was it Tsubasa's body? He signed his name and grinned at the woman behind the counter before walking off. "Yeah! Another competition!"

I rolled my eyes. "How many competitions have you taken part in, exactly?" I asked sarcastically, before muttering something else under my breath. "Ignorant brat." He wouldn't know what I thought about each and every one of these bladers.

As Gingka rattled off the astounding number of tournaments he had participated in before, I switched off, only making sure to make to make the right sounds at the right moments. My concerns were somewhere else entirely, after all. Rosalina Tendo was the first element, but how was I going to stop everyone else from finding out?

The only thing I could hope for was to face the blader in the first round and knock her out quickly before her powers had awakened. After all, she didn't know that she was an Element, and I planned to use this to my advantage. But hoping wasn't enough. There simply was no room for error…

A voice piped up in my head and I stopped cold, feeling my pupils dilate. _How long will you take? _The gruff voice was unmistakable. Rago. How did he even manage to maintain that mental link with me even though I had already left the void? There were too many questions left unanswered.

An idea floated into my head. I wasn't strong enough now, but if… I answered him. _I don't know. But I need some help. Some of the energy from where you are… _That liquid power that we floated in for so long was what we thrived on; _our life force. _

_I'll try, _Rago answered. A few moments later, I felt energy return and flow through my once lethargic body. It was pure heaven, and a smirk crossed my face as I felt rejuvenated. Before anyone could see it, the tips of my fingers glowed dark purple and a trail of energy only I could see snaked around the secretary.

I spun around and walked away, seeing that everyone had finished registering. Perfect. Now, all I had to do was win, and the first Element would remain undiscovered…

Forever.

* * *

-Time skip, midnight-

Everyone was sleeping. It was that natural time, and also my favourite time of the day. The bare minimum of light was pleasing to my eyes as I tilted my head to look at the beautiful stars in the sky, watching them twinkling in my eyes. A faint smile crossed my face as I felt _relaxed _for the first time since what seemed like an eternity.

I read the stars, but they told me nothing. Only a single sentence could be formed by their position. _You will choose between the paths between beauty and chaos, the paths between daydream and nightmare. _My eyes narrowed. What did that even mean? Choosing a path? I had already done that.

Ignoring the foreboding message I had just received, I concentrated hard on the energy in my inner soul, and a swirling black void opened up in front of me. I placed my hand on it, and instantly, my world went into the darkness once again.

This was where I would train. No one would even suspect anything. My body was still physically in bed, sleeping, while my soul was here. I would _conquer _Dynamis's bey, no matter what means I had to resort to to do it. I had to do it in order to beat Rosalina Tendo- quickly and soundly.

I launched Jade Jupiter into the abyss, and watched as the bey spun around the seemingly absent stadium. However, there was something different with the way it spun- different from Firefuse Darkhelm. Darkhelm obliged to my every command, and carried out each movement quickly and willingly.

Jupiter's spin was steady and quick, and it dashed in circles around the empty space it was trapped in. But this wasn't right. An angry, resentful aura was present as it continued to move in circles. It looked almost reckless, a far cry from what I had known about the Jupiter bladers graceful, calm and strategic way of battling.

"Attack to the left," I mumbled, and the bey turned to the left and did as I said, but there was no heart behind that. "Right now." It did the exact same thing, slowly and methodically. Technically, it would be called "perfect", but the ancestors of Beyblade desired something more. They desired the tenacity and passion of the bey in battle, and not just crisp, fluid movements.

I groaned. "Grand Lightning!" That was the name of its special move, wasn't it? A bolt of lightning appeared in the sky and struck the air, lighting up the darkness for just a split second. And that was when Jupiter's bey spirit emerged…

The spirit glared at me, and I felt small under its piercing gaze. _I will not yield under your command, _it growled. _You are not my partner. Only Dynamis is, and he will be the only one to bring out my full potential. You will be defeated by the Elements, and get your due punishment!_

That was it. My hand clenched as dark energy radiated from my body, causing my hair to be ruffled slightly. A tiny shard of Jupiter's fusion wheel broke off, and I heard the spirit cry out in pain. _What was that for? You're just putting yourself at a disadvantage!_

_"_Do I look like I care?" I countered, glaring at it menacingly. A black light shone in my blue eyes as the darkness bent and flared around me. "And besides… I know the mental connection you share with your dear blader's soul, and he should be feeling the pain a thousand times more than you this moment…"

My hair shadowed my eyes as my lips curled into a maniacal smile. "And that's only part of the pain I have in store for him. My revenge for them ruining my life."

* * *

**...Yeah. Go kill Pluto and stuff if you want ^_^ And he will pay for hurting Dynamis~ Here are the replies to reviews!**

**Gocty: :3 Thanks for the advice, and I'll take that into consideration. I love character development though XD**

**Luna: NUUUUUU DON'T KILL PLUTO! I STILL NEED HIM! BESIDES FEEL SORRY FOR HIM! FEEL SORREH~**

**Now, bai~! *waves* critiques welcome and please review, and with that, Nyx le Absol out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Goodnight

**I was in my grandma's room cause reasons, and it's really nice there, so I was planning to stay up until like 2am writing. Unfortunately, my mum found out at 11.30, so I had to write the rest today =_= **

**Dynamis: And the point is...?**

**I'm posting it today instead of yesterday because of that. Anyway, I don't own MFB and please enjoy!**

* * *

Tithi's POV:

"Dy-Dynamis? Ar-Are you awake?" I shook the teenager, but there was no response. "You have to wake up, okay?" _Curse you Pluto! Curse you! _I hated that blader. He trapped us here, hurt my _brother, _and had some type of plan to get revenge. I was sure of it.

A murmur of pain escaped his lips and his shivering form convulsed suddenly. "D-Dynamis? You okay?" The now indigo-haired blader groaned and sat up, shuddering. His black eyes glazed over with pain and his light purple aura began to glow around him for a moment before fading away.

"J-Jupiter…" He stammered out, looking into the distance. "Jupiter is hurt…" He looked into the distance, before his eyes slid close again. The black chains clanged around his wrists and crackled with dark energy.

I looked at his weak form sadly. I knew all bladers had some sort of connection with their beys, but why did Dynamis know about Jupiter? And why was he hurting for his bey? _I'll try to find out for him when he wakes up… _I lightly tapped my "brother's" nose and murmured out.

"Goodnight…"

* * *

Gingka's POV:

"Ah…" I opened my eyes sleepily. The dim morning light filled my line of vision and I sat up, rested and ready to battle. Unsurprisingly, I was the last one awake. All the beds scattered around the room was empty and neatly made. I took a peek at the clock and my eyes widened.

_"__Ten o'clock already?!" The tournament starts at eleven! And I need to be there fifteen minutes earlier! _I jumped out of bed and hastily pulled on my clothes before running out of the room frantically.

I ran out of the hotel room, none of my friends in sight. I paused to grab a sandwich for breakfast, stuffing it in my mouth abruptly as I continued sprinting. The bey stadium wasn't that far away. I caught a glimpse of my watch: ten twenty. I saw a nearby taxi and hailed it.

As I sat down, I called out, "The bey stadium, please!" Thankfully the driver understood English and he immediately turned in the direction we wanted to head. Settling down in my seat, I let out a sigh of relief. _It's going to be fine, it's going to be fine…_

There was a jerk as the car stopped. "_Thank _you!" I cried out breathlessly, pressing some money into his hand. "Keep the change!" With that, I ran towards the doors of the stadium as fast as I could.

I somehow made it into the briefing room two minutes before ten forty-five. My friends were already comfortably seated in their seats, either chatting with each other or staring at the large screen in front of them. I slid into a spare seat next to Benkei, I mean _Masamune._

"You made it!" He grinned, but I could tell his eyes were worried. All of us were. We _had _to be in perfect sync with our beys even though we had never used them before, the bond between us and our beys just shattered…

_Starting anew isn't always easy…_

My thoughts were interrupted as an unfamiliar man entered the room, a laptop in hand. The screen flickered and came to life, and he pointed to the faces shown. "These are your match-ups for the first round. Any questions?" The room was silent. "Good."

_My match up is Kyoya, that means… Yu? _At the same time, what looked like the Leone blader popped up beside me, smiling. "Hey, Gingky! Looks like we're battling in the first round!" He exclaimed. I grinned back. It _had _been a long time since he had battled Yu, but not, well, like this…

* * *

-Time skip, Yu's POV:-

"Welcome to the competition!" The DJ grinned at us. "I'm sure you're excited to see so many talented bladers here today, so, I'm not going to talk much longer. This competition features both bladers new to the country and favourites from France too, so, without further ado, let's welcome our first matchup!

Gingky- well, it _kinda _was Tsubasa in a way, but it was still the Pegasus blader I was familiar with- walked up confidently, holding Earth Eagle in his hand. I pulled out Fang Leone and looked at the dark green bey with the lion face-bolt. "Seems like we _have _to work together today whether you like it or not. Even though Yo-yo's a total grump, you're a nice bey, Leone. Can't believe how you put up with him."

The DJ leant over the railing of the podium he was on. "Our first match is between two foreign but well-known bladers from around the world! On my right, I have Tsubasa Otori, one of the bladers on the winning team for the World Championships. And on my left, I have none other than the Legendary Blader of Spring, Kyoya Tategami!"

I tried my best to maintain Yo-yo's grumpy facial expression, and it was _hard. _How on earth could someone not smile for so long? Fang Leone was attached to my launcher, and I calculated the best spot to launch and get a quick, hard strike against a defence-type like Eagle.

"Three!" Gingka exclaimed as he readied his bey and pointed it towards the stadium, preparing to launch.

"Two!" I growled back, still keeping up the Kyoya impression.

"One!" The crowd chanted, going wild from the excitement of the first battle of the competition. Just as the tip of our beys left the launchers and raced through the air towards the stadium, a universal cry declared the start of the battle. _You know how Yo-yo blades. More aggressive than others, almost reckless…_

"Let it rip!"

Leone shot into the stadium with impressive speed, more than what I was used to dealing with. I must have set it to Counter mode instead. "Roar now, Leone!" I shouted immediately as the bey raced directly towards Eagle. Gingky smirked as he prepared for a counterattack.

"Dodge it first!" He replied, and Earth Eagle gracefully dodged each blow that Leone forcefully threw at it before slipping away and striking back, pushing Leone to the edge of the stadium.

"You can _run, _but not forever," I stated as pieces of wind grafted and formed around Fang Leone. As it started to spin faster, a tornado swirled gently around its fusion wheel. "Take this!" With an added burst of speed, Leone suddenly appeared next to Eagle and smashed into Eagle hard.

"Leone's impressive, all right," Gingky muttered, trying to remain composed like Tsubasa did. "But I can do this. Eagle, special move! Metal Wing Smash!"

The purple eagle spirit rose up from the bey, a shrill cry piercing through the air as it glowed a brilliant violet, gliding gracefully and quickly through the air and heading towards Leone. I was ready to bring my hands up as a defensive instinct, but then remembered that wasn't what _Yo-yo _did.

_It's hard behaving like someone else… _I thought to myself before calling out a counter attack. "Lion Gale-Force Wall!" I exclaimed as a tornado emerged as the air swirled around Leone, the sturdy column of pure, deadly wind blocking Eagle's special move completely.

As Gingky frowned, contemplating his next move, I took that chance to attack again. "Tsk! If you're not going to attack, then I am. Special move, King Lion Tearing Blast!" I snarled.

The air bent quickly under Leone's command, and several twisters rose up inside of the arena. The slow spin of the tornadoes increased until they were just a flurry of blue and white wind, closing in rapidly on its prey. Looking at the seemingly impossible situation, Gingka's eyes hardened.

"Soar now, Eagle! Use—" He hesitated for a while. "I mean, er, special move, Stream Slash!" The eagle screeched and folded it wings. It appeared to be falling, falling, falling, until it was clear what it was doing. Gliding on the harsh winds of my tornadoes, it spiralled up into the sky and dived straight at Leone. "Now, Shining Tornado Buster!"

_The spinning already caused by Leone's tornadoes strengthens its speed and power. If I can't escape from this, than I have no choice but to counterattack with my bey's strongest move. _I looked up. "Leone! King Lion Crushing Fang, full power! Show them the savageness of a lion!"

There was a guttural, inhuman sound as the huge green lion rose from its bey, its eyes lit up by nothing but one semblance that we both shared: _Determination. _The amazingly huge tornado concealed both opponents, but I could still see the purple tornado battling against Leone's.

_I have an idea. It might just work… _"Jump up inside the tornado and uppercut!" Fang Leone growled and dived straight inside the ravaging winds recklessly, but I could see it's spin speed increasing tremendously as it climbed the tornado easily.

"E-Eagle!" Gingka cried out as he saw the purple light dim in the midst of the two twisters clashing.

Finally, the tornadoes dispersed into the air, revealing the two beys still in mid-air. However, as Leone landed, spinning shakily, Eagle dropped inside the stadium like a stone, unmoving. I grinned.

_"__The winner of this match is Kyoya Tategami and his bey Fang Leone!"_

"Hm," I said before walking off. Once I was in privacy, I took a deep breath. Sweat was already running down my face from the pressure that had been put on me. I looked at the bey clenched in my first.

"Good job, Leone. You're actually a cool bey. I can see why you like Yo-yo now."

* * *

**OH MY FREAKING GOD. I think I'll die if I have to write battle scenes like this for every single battle. *cries* I'm going to skip some (OK maybe a lot XDD) of the battles, because personally, I think that they get repetitive and annoying after a while. This was only to show what happens when you battle inside a switched body.**

**Replies to reviews:**

**Gocty: I still need Pluto for the story. XD But maybe after the story, if you don't feel sorry for him, we can torture him together. And O_o I'm scared of what you're going to do to him, considering we're only 7 chapters in. And Dynamis says that painkillers can't help him and how in the world are we ****supposed to get into Hades' dungeons with Google Maps? XD**

**Eternal Nexus Warrior: Thanks so much! And only I now. ONLY I SHALL KNOW... well... until the chapter where they battle.**

**Gamergirl101: Haha, thanks so much!**

**Midnight Mayonaka: Thanks a lot, Midnight!**

**Question of the chapter: How long have you been in the Beyblade fandom? My cousin got me into it about three plus years ago, but I only watched Metal Fusion. Then, about two years ago, I watched Metal Masters and stopped. I only watched Metal Fury last year because I read a fanfic and was like "WHO THE HELL IS DYNAMIS? I NEED TO KNOW AISBNFJKN" And there you have it.**

**Now, critiques welcome and please review~! With that *salutes* Nyx out!**


	8. Chapter 8: I Am My Own Bey

**Eh? I'm alive~ XD And no, you're not seeing things. I actually COMPLETED my fanfics on Wattpad, but exams are coming up, so don't expect me to be more active. I don't own MFB, and hope you enjoy!**

**EDIT: I known Chris said he was going to Germany, but I had another plan, so I edited Chapter 4. He's with the others in France now. You'll find out why later on in the story.**

* * *

Chris' POV:

For what seemed like the _thousandth _time that day, I glanced at the new bey in my hand.

It wasn't natural. The cool metal of Hades Crown was nothing like the warmth that had radiated from Orion. The balance-type felt heavy in my hand, and I cursed silently at whoever had decided to do this to us.

"So I'm stuck with you, huh?" A reluctant sigh escaped my lips as I leant against the wall. I could almost feel the bey glower back at me unhappily. "I know, I hate you too. But we have to work together or else we're dead." Lazily shifting my weight back to my feet, I started to walk to my place in the stadium.

As I saw my destination in front of my, I felt a firm tap on my shoulder. Instantly, I whirled around, muscles tense- a natural defensive instinct I had developed over the years. Hades Crown clicked into place, and I was about to attack when I saw who it was.

"Steady." Bao raised an eyebrow, stepping back a little. "I'm not going to kill you or anything, relax." It had been surprising seeing _myself _stare back at me, but I managed to at least calm myself.

I folded my arms, detaching my- no, _Bao's_\- bey from the launcher, clenching it close to my side for comfort. My voice was cold- that was expected for someone I had never spoken to before. "What do you want? In case you've forgotten, I have a battle soon."

The teen shrugged casually, but his words held a sense of protective sharpness. "Take care of Hades Crown. He's a sensitive bey."

"I… I guess." A small smile formed on my face, to my slight disgust. Bao was a true blader. According to what Gingka had told me and my experience with him when we were Nemesis bladers, he had been Aguma's accomplice. I hadn't had the chance to interact with him then, but he wasn't one of _them. _Someone who could just abandon you and turn away.

"Good luck, then." Bao smirked slightly. "Hope you advance to the second round."

"It _would _be interesting if we faced off against each other in the second round." My tone had lightened, knowing that Bao had already won his battle against a mere novice blader. Bao nodded and walked off, probably to take his seat in the grandstand.

Looking at Hades Crown with a slightly less skeptical expression, my pace quickened as I headed once more towards the beystadium.

* * *

"Welcome to the fifth battle of the tournament!" I cringed a little at the over-enthusiastic tone that the DJ had used. "As you can see, we have two talented bladers with us today. On my left, it's Bao, a blader from the legendary Beylin Temple! And on my right, it's Yuki Mizusawa- a Legendary Blader!"

The brunette took his place opposite me, fingering his large glasses nervously. I checked myself slightly, reminding myself that the blader in question was _Zeo. _Another blader I had yet to interact with, but I would find out who he really was in battle, it seemed.

As I met his large, dark blue eyes, I saw an unrestrained, fiery passion flare in his eyes, and a dark tendril of jealousy tugged at my heart. _I was once like that. It's because of- _I forced myself to concentrate. _No. Don't think of that topic. It'll just distract you further. You have to let go of the past already._

_"_Three!" I could tell that Zeo was concerned, but we were both anxious to start the battle.

"Two!" I tried not to let the hesitation show in my voice, his sudden declaration catching me off guard.

"One!" The cheers of the crowd rang in my ears. It hurt, not being used to the loud atmosphere, but I would have to find a way to deal with it.

"Let it rip!" we shouted in unison. Hades Crown and Mercury Anubis shot into the stadium quickly. I recoiled, but masked the surprise well. It obviously specialised and relied on its lightning-quick speed to win, and that took an extremely different approached than I usually used with Orion.

"A-Anubis!" The stammering break in his voice was crystal clear, but I guess it fit into Yuki's fidgety, shy personality. "Attack Hades Crown before it gets away!"

It was practically impossible to catch with a novice eye, but any experienced blader could see the hesitation in Anubis' movements before it skidded forward, swiftly closing in on its opponent. I scowled, glad that I had at least swapped bodies with a blader of a somewhat similar personality.

"Escape," I commanded, but Hades Crown dithered aimlessly at my voice. Taking the advantage, Anubis swept in, smashing into my bey's energy ring. Hades Crown flew back, colliding with the curved surface of the stadium.

"Pathetic," I muttered under my breath, making sure no one could hear or see. The red bey was already wobbling from the one hit. _It has extremely weak defence. Orion would be just fine after that attack._

My tone forceful, I called out a move. "Confuse Anubis with your speed."

Hades Crown followed my command with less hesitation, but it seemed more _dead _than alive. As if it was following me without any intent of putting any effort into this battle. The bey darted all over the stadium, leaving Anubis with only the choice to remain in the center of the stadium.

"What the hell?" Yuki- or Zeo- squinted, trying and failing to read the movements of the blood red bey. "It looks like there's multiple copies of it in the stadium! How is it so fast?" When I didn't answer him, he groaned. "Anubis, Vacuum Slash!"

The dark blue bey leapt up, fusion wheel glittering in the artificial light, and raced across the stadium, and for a moment, a large rip seemed to form in the air, causing the illusions of Hades Crown to flicker dangerously and disappear. As I opened my mouth to ask a question, Zeo had already answered it.

"I've trained a lot, and I'm _much _stronger now. Vacuum Slash is proof of that!" A genuine smile seemed to spread across his face, as he seemed to get caught up in the role of a Legendary Blader. However, at the same time, his eyes held a different sentence: _Yuki trained a lot for this._

"Interesting," I muttered back. "Go now, Hades Crown." Before Zeo could even anticipate was was coming, the red bey had already appeared at Anubis' side and smashed into it, spinning away before its opponent to counterattack.

_Damn it! _My thoughts were flustered, and I couldn't think straight. _How does Bao put up with this bey! It's not following my commands properly. It's defence and stamina leaves much to be desired. _**_Orion _**_would never-_

Then, a clear sentence spoke in my mind, causing my head to jerk back involuntarily: _But have you ever considered that Hades Crown isn't Orion?_

_What- _It was true, no matter how much I could deny it. I had been comparing Hades Crown to my bey, so _focused _on picking out every flaw it had, every time thinking _Orion could do this much better, _never stopping to think that they were two completely different beys.

_I messed up, _was the only think I could think. _I messed up big time. A Legendary Blader of all people should be able to understand this. Sorry, Hades Crown. _The apology was grudging, but sincere. _I know I'm not Bao. I'll never be. But we have to get along. The one thing both of us have in common is our bey spirit. Is that enough?_

The sudden energised burst of speed that the bey produced more than answered my question.

"Where did all this speed come from?" Zeo groaned out as a strong gust of wind blasted both of us. I merely smirked. A faint but intense red glow caused the bey to pulse with blazing heat, and rings of lit-up red flared up around it.

_This is the difference between you and a Legendary Blader._

"Brave-brave Impact!" Zeo cried out as he realised what I was about to do. His bey hurled itself recklessly into the air, speeding towards Hades Crown in a burst of bright sapphire light. But it wasn't as fast as the bey I wielded.

"Crimson Flash," I replied, and the bey disappeared in a bath of blinding red light, crackling with energy as it became nothing more than a blade-like streak of energy that darted past Anubis, its protective cloak fading as it wobbled, but still spun steadily in the stadium.

Meanwhile, Anubis- the beyblade of a Legendary Blader- lay half-wedged in the ground, still steaming from the impact. Zeo stared at me open-mouthed, but I had already caught Hades Crown and started to walk away, satisfied with it's performance.

"So that's all you want, huh? To not be compared to any other bey?" I could feel a pulse still race through its complicated structure. "All right. Maybe you're not _that _pathetic after all."

But that sentence did carry a more lighthearted tone.

* * *

**:3 How did you find it? I haven't written Beyblade for a long time, so it's not up to the usual standard. XD**

**QOTC: Best World Championship Team: Wild Fang/Wang Hu Zhong. Because Gan Gan Galaxy is too mainstream. *flips hair fabulously***

**Replies to reviews:**

**Gocty: O.e I is scared, meep- Thank you for the advice! I tried on this chapter, dammit, emphasis on tried. XD**

**Alicornia: What do you mean? .-.**

**Midnight Mayonaka: It's just that you don't really have a lot of room to work with, and battle after battle can get boring.**

**Eugenides: Thank you so much~! 3**

**HorseCrazyAshay: I will join you! XD And thank you so much; I really appreciate it!  
**

**Now, critiques welcome and please review. *salutes* Nyx out!**


	9. Chapter 9: Crimson Rose Petals

**=_= came back here because too much Wattpad drama. I don't own MFB, now please enjoy!**

* * *

Pluto's POV:

"All right, guys!"

The DJ's excited tone was the exact opposite of my unusually gloomy one. Rosalina Tendo—the supposed Element of Grass, calmly took her place opposite me, scarlet hair braided and flicked over one shoulder.

I lifted my gaze to look into the cool sapphire that blazed in her eyes, being careful to avoid those especially bright pupils. The intense spirit behind them was almost overwhelming, so I had done it just like my ancestors had told me to— _look them in the eye, don't alert them to anything suspicious by avoiding their gaze, but don't look at the pupils._

"You ready, Dynamis?" Rosalina questioned, her tone lighthearted, as she adjusted her grip on the rose-red launcher in her hands.

I nodded hastily. "Y-Yes. I am."

Jade Jupiter glowered at me from its secure grasp in the launcher, and I could clearly see the tiny chip that I had made in its once elegant fusion wheel.

Of course, I simply ignored the burning, accusing gaze it shot at me and focused on the battlefield, changing my expression to one of sheer concentration.

_You can't screw this battle up, _I reminded myself. _You have to win as quickly as possible._

"3!" Rosalina started the countdown, and I quickly snapped back to attention, my grip tightening on the black launcher.

"2," I stammered out, trying to get a good look at her crimson-stained bey.

"1!" The audience chanted out the last beat of the countdown together with us.

"Let it rip!" We both shouted, and both of our beys tore across the sky for a split second, _flying, _before landing at the opposite edges of the arena.

* * *

Rosalinas's POV:

I couldn't believe my own eyes, but it was _true._

_Dynamis _was my opponent, standing opposite me, in this very _stadium._

Yet, every bit of this was true.

_No time to lose your focus, Rosalina, _I chided. _You don't want to get out in the very first round. _With that, I straightened my posture, ready to call my first move. "Make sure Jupiter's movements are restrained!"

My bey— Rose Artemis— sped forward at once, a ruby light surrounding it for a split-second, and it it enclosed Jupiter in a tight circle, moving with the precision and grace that I had worked so hard on for _months._

"Good job," I praised. "Now, Artemis, barrage attack!"

Instantly, the rose-tinted bey closed in on its opponent, and carried out a quick succession of short, hard hits on the indigo Jupiter. _No matter how strong its defence is, it won't be able to take that many hits without damage!_

"Not happening," my opponent replied calmly, closing his fist. Jupiter tipped backwards from the force of yet another attack, but I frowned in confusion.

It had tipped far too much— like it was letting the attack slide over it.

"Thanks for pushing Jupiter into Defence mode, Rosalina," he stated, before his bey righted itself and continued to spin on, despite the numerous hits that Artemis threw at it.

"No problem," I muttered, tilting my head slightly. "Change of plan. Artemis, bash it into the wall— as hard as possible."

Complying, the bey drew back, its spiked performance tip whirring quickly to gain momentum, and zipped forward, giving Jade Jupiter no time to react. The purple bey stood no chance at it was driven forcefully into the rock-hard concrete of the arena's surface, and Artemis was _not _about to give up her attack.

"I've managed to switch Jupiter to its Attack mode, but it looks like you're in no position to strike back." I let a smirk form. "What are you going to do now?"

He simply raised an eyebrow. "Impressive work. You've… gotten _better." _He said that with hesitation. "But you're not the only one who's improved. Blast Artemis away, Jupiter!"

A split-second passed before there was an eruption of indigo light from Jupiter, swallowing the entire battlefield— Artemis included— before dying down, revealing, a wobbling Artemis that had been violently thrown to the other side of the stadium.

"What the—" I allowed myself to let out a gasp. "When the _hell _could Jupiter do that?"

He brushed my shocked statement off. "Like I said, we improved. Now, it's our turn. Jupiter, take advantage of your Attack mode and hit Artemis while it's still dazed!"

The bey complied, and charged towards my bey at a frightening pace. I narrowed my eyes as Jupiter seemed to lack something— it's usual elegant, poised lustre— and seemed just like any regular bey. However, as I blinked, and Artemis sailed helplessly into the sky, I brushed it off as a trick of the eye.

I growled in frustration as Artemis took yet another heavy attack from Jupiter, its spin speed decreasing by the second. I _had _to do something, yet I couldn't.

It was the first time in my life I had felt so utterly _dominated _in a battle.

Battling had always come naturally to me. Each spin and command had always slid smoothly out of my mouth without hesitation. But in this battle against my childhood friend as we _reunited…_

Why was this so important to me?

I quickly shook that probing question aside, trying to concentrate on the battle at hand, but no matter how hard I thought, Jupiter would easily be able to counter the method I used.

_If it's so important, then go for it!_

My head snapped up as I felt the melodic, upbeat voice ring out in my mind. _What the- who the hell are you?_

_A simple messenger dragon for Purity, _it answered casually, and I could almost picture the creature nodding its head as if it was the most natural thing on Earth. _Forcing yourself into an unfamiliar style will do nothing but hinder you._

I slid my eyes close, attempting to relax myself. _Then what do you suggest I do? I've tried battling in my normal style!_

I let my eyes slide open a fraction, seeing Artemis being uselessly flung around like a rag doll. The bey's fusion wheel was battered from all the damage it had taken, and I could almost feel its exhaustion cloud me.

_Calm down, Rosalina Tendo, _the dragon advised. _Relax, and truly become one with Rose Artemis. Unlock its true power, and let your battling style become a part of you._

_Calm down. _Those words spun around my head at an alarming rate. _What would make me calm down?_

* * *

_Scarlet petals raining. The aroma of flora— more specifically, roses— around me, wafting its way to my nose. _

_Right hand over left, gently cupping a single bloom, one so exquisitely fragile it was as precious as a beautiful crystal figurine._

_A deep lavender staining the thin silken petals of the rose, a single, rare stalk that offered a wonderful contrast to the ruby and emerald hues that formed an endless field around me._

_Wind gushing in small amounts, finding and trudging its way through my locks of red hair, whistling past me and causing the stray strands of my braid to gently caress my neck._

_And the cool metal of Rose Artemis' fusion wheel against the forest green of the thorny stalk, the five blades fanning out to replicate the rose that lay in my hands._

_The sweet scent of the field of roses was the last thing I experienced before my vision filled with a blinding green._

* * *

Pluto's POV:

"Jupiter, finish with G-"

My sentence was cut short by a huge, overwhelming burst of energy from opposite me.

Quickly, I looked up, seeing a storm of rose petals circle around my opponent, as a blinding emerald light cloaked her. I could smell the earthy scent of herbs and roses, and Rose Artemis had been affected by it as well.

The once worn-out bey righted itself, its usually red aura turning into the bright green of its element. The symbol on its facebolt shone, carved lines radiating with light, and for the first time that battle, the ghostly image of an elegant woman cloaked in ruby-red robes emerged, an intricate, golden bow in her arms.

_Damn it! _I yelled at myself mentally. _I failed. She's awakening!_

Jade Jupiter, sensing my hesitation, slid to a stop, and I could positively imagine the spirit locked inside watching the scene unfold.

When Rosalina opened her eyes once again, it wasn't the deep ocean-blue that I had remembered, but instead, an bright emerald had washed away that colour. As her fiery gaze met mine, it wasn't the collected look she usually had, but I felt _inferior— _as if I was all alone, facing all of Earth itself.

"Rose Artemis, special move," she uttered with deliberate precision. "Rose Jubilee."

Gracefully, the spirit opened her hand, causing a tornado of glowing red, petal-like shapes to envelope Artemis. The tempest swiftly grew in size and speed, until the only thing left to see was a ruby pillar around her bey, quickly expanding and eager to swallow Jade Jupiter.

_I can't screw up any more. Her advancement of power will end _**_here._**

I darkened my gaze, willing the shadowy energy to flow into my body. It swallowed me like a warm, comfortable river, and when I opened my eyes, I could feel the bright green sparks that shone in my irises.

"Ruined Darkness," I whispered, clenching my fist tightly as a sphere of darkness cloaked Jupiter, quickly engulfing the entire stadium in its shadows. The globe of energy blazed wildly with all sorts of horrible, abstract colours burning and bubbling within it, barely contained by the prison of twilight.

And I didn't need to look, as a red-hot Jupiter flew back to my hand, that a stationary, victimised Rose Artemis had been violently blasted out of the stadium.

* * *

**Eh. Pluto won xD I was honestly so unmotivated to write...**

**Replies to reviews:**

**HorseCrazyAshay: Thank you so much! I just find writing bey's emotions hilarious xDD**

**Gocty: Nothing is crazy with confetti c: I SWEAR YOU'RE PSYCHIC BECAUSE HE BATTLES THIS CHAPTER- I still want to kill him. *hides gun* ehhhh, you saw nothing~**

**Alicornia: Thanks so much! ^^ It's really sweet of you!**

**gamergirl101: Arigatou~ *bows***

**Flora216: Thanks so much; you have no idea how much it means! I SWEAR, I will write that someday. It is too tempting to write it. x3**

**QOTC: Favourite MFB season? Mine was Metal Fury, because it was the most epic, had cool fights, and Dynamis. - yes that's a legit reason now shut up so I can go back to fangirling**

**Admittedly I haven't been in the MFB fandom for a long while because I've honestly started on other fandoms like Angel Beats, PMMM, SAO, Assassination Classroom (KARMABAE) and others ;-; eh, I'll get back into it...**

**Critiques welcome and please review as always. *salutes* Nyx out~!**


	10. Chapter 10: I'm One Of Them Too

Pluto's POV:

As I turned back, Gingka's high-pitched tone was the first I heard, shouting out words of congratulations and praise.

I simply offered him a paling smile, too tired to perfect my mask and prayed that he would just brush the weak grin off as a factor of my exhaustion. Luckily, that seemed like the case, and I was able to get past the once-Pegasus blader and into the lounge.

I kept a firm grip on Jupiter, glaring at the violet-themed bey glowing in my hand.

"That was a less than satisfactory show," I scolded, but the object in my hand refused to answer, the metal item going dull and cold once again.

"When I expect an a reply, you _reply," _I ordered tightly. "Do you want to see your _dear _master in pain again? Because that's all too easy a job." A telltale flare of indigo started to curl from my palm, but a snappy voice stopped me from doing so.

_I will only speak with _**_scum _**_like yourself for the sake of my partner, _Jupiter hissed angrily. _You'd better not hurt him._

I gritted my teeth—even a _bey _couldn't gain the least bit of respect for me—and silenced the spirit with a seamless snap of my fingers.

"I won't hurt him _now_," I muttered quietly, pupils widening in a crazed manner. "I can't guarantee about later, though. Oh, and Jupiter?" I spoke with venom, a wisp of purple smoke curling around the bey and doing _just _enough to make it sting in agony.

Technically, I _wasn't _breaking my promise. That tiny tendril of mist wouldn't inflict any harm on the _blader. _Their bond wouldn't have been able to grow _that_ strong.

"_Respect _me," I snarled.

The spirit remained surprisingly calm, and his calculating tone caused me to curl my fists in annoyance. _Was that a hint of childishness I heard in your voice, _**_Pluto? _**it taunted mockingly. _You know, if our destinies didn't cause me to bear hatred towards you, I'd pity you._

_So even you won't bother to look at me._

"Do you _want _me to go back on my word?" I hissed. "Because I can. And if you don't _shut up, _I _will."_

That caused him to quiet down, and I instantly shoved the object into my pocket, not wanting to even _look _at the metallic article any longer.

"That's better."

"So you managed to make it to the second round too," Chris mused. "Of course, there might be more Elements in this tournament, and we'll have to talk to this Rosalina as soon as possible. Hopefully, she'll listen to us—"

Kyoya glanced up half-heartedly, completing the blond's sentence. "—if she doesn't think that all this is absolute bullshit."

"That's…_true," _Chris admitted reluctantly. "It's our only hope, though."

"Dynamis?" Madoka's voice pulled the blader out of his daydreams. "Anything to add?"

He bit his lip—preventing the Grass Element's awakening had proved futile, and his plan had now completely fallen apart. Rosalina had noticed something _off _about his blading, and he'd noticed that. It was only a matter of time before the others noticed.

"Dynamis?" The mechanic repeated her question, annoyed.

He forced a weak smile on his face. If they didn't trust him, he would need to act better. And to act better, he would need a better mask.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, masking his disgust with false sheepishness. "I'm just tired from the battle."

"Ah, that's fine," the girl replied, leaning back in her chair. "For now, do you think we should continue the tournament? Or—"

Just as I opened my mouth to say _no, _to think up a hundred plausible reasons as to _why, _another blader interjected.

"Um, I think we should!" Yuki spoke up—he was lucky, I guess; he and Zeo really _did _resemble each other. "We can't count out the possibility that there may be another of these Elements here."

"And those who lost in the first round can talk to Rosalina," Madoka continued. "That's a decent plan for now, I guess."

I studied the group—full of bumbling _idiots _that couldn't get through the day without their friends. I, however, was different. I was a born liar—a born actor, and I had to bear this pain and pretend that I was the innocent blader of Jupiter.

_Was Rago a friend? _I questioned myself, but pushed that thought aside. Yes, I had promised to save him, and I _did _fully intend to keep my promise, but that wasn't my intention right now.

"Oh, yes." Chris held up his phone. "I got some information from Yu. He's found a strong blader in Japan—goes by the name of Blossom. He's not entirely sure if she's an Element or not, but it's a start."

_Blossom? _I committed that name to memory. I would find out who she _really _was later—for now, it was time to deceive.

Madoka looked up. "It also looks like the next-round match-ups are out!" She jabbed a finger at the large TV screen in the lounge.

Grunting slightly, I searched for my—no, Dynamis'—name, and skipped over the rather uninteresting brunette that was matched up with me. I could see the girl peering at me from the crowd, but I felt absolutely no sense of abnormal energy from her.

Just then, the blader's phones simultaneously rang with an electronic _beep, _and I instinctively got up from my place on the couch and peered over the nearest blader's shoulder.

A message popped up on the bright screen, the ID anonymous.

_You're looking for Elements? I'm one of them._

At this, we blinked at each other in muddled shock, the cogs and screws in our brains seeming to slide to a halt. I silently gestured for my "friends" to continue reading, and it must have worked—their attention soon returned to the device, reading what was left of the ominous-sounding text.

_I'll be facing off against one of you in the next round. See you there._

"Looks like a school tournament's going to come up."

The brunette boy looked at the competition pamphlet, a bey next to him as he scrutinised the rules. "It looks like it'll be pretty fun. Maybe I'll enter this year~"

"What are you saying?" A taller girl scowled at him. "You're the leader of our club, Naoki. You kind of _have _to go. It's compulsory."

He raised an eyebrow. "_Is that so nominated in the bond?" _he shot back, quoting the infamous _The Merchant of Venice_—it was the book that they were studying that year, after all. "Ah, I'm kidding. Of course I'll go."

He stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder, but was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

Naoki looked up to see a tall, imposing figure in front of him, blocking any means of escape and holding a bey in his hand. The man gave him a cryptic smile—one that almost literally _spelled _doom.

"So you're the infamous Hibiki Hisoka?" He grinned. "I'd like to have a battle with you.


End file.
